SAPR

by Scipio Smith

Her First Debriefing (New)

Her First Debriefing

“Are you frowning at me?” Sunset asked.

Blake hadn’t realised that she was frowning, and she stopped as soon as she realised. “Sorry,” she said. “I just… I can understand why General Ironwood might want to see me, but not why he’d ask you to come up here.” The two of them stood in the corridor outside of General Ironwood’s office aboard the Valiant. Or rather, Blake stood; Sunset slouched against the wall like a sack of flour. Blake suspected that she was doing it on purpose in order to demonstrate that she wasn’t a part of General Ironwood’s military and wouldn’t be bound by its discipline.

It was the same reason that Sunset had her hands thrust into her pockets.

If Blake had been more determined to remain a mere ancillary of the Atlesian forces, then she might have been tempted to join her, if she had given Rainbow Dash a firm ‘no’ when the idea of transferring to Atlas, then maybe… but she had not given a firm ‘no’ for the good reason that she hadn’t made her mind up yet. And so, she assumed a somewhat military bearing, back straight and hands by her sides, even if she wasn’t actually standing to attention.

Shall I stay or shall I go? Rainbow’s offer… it was a tempting one, not so much for the material advantages as for what you might call the spiritual ones. To be a part of something bigger than herself, bigger than just a four-man team – or a five-man team, even – to be a part of something large and powerful… something like the White Fang, but better.

But she’d been here before. The White Fang had seemed like the ‘something better’ not so very long ago. She had sat at the feet of Sienna Khan and listened to her talk about the need for justice and the need to take extreme measures in order to obtain that justice, and she had believed her, as she found herself starting to believe Rainbow and the others when they talked about how great and glorious Atlas was. She had a habit of getting swept away by the appeal of a cause when sold by someone passionate and convinced of its righteousness, and Rainbow Dash was certainly that.

Rainbow… Rainbow reminded her a little of Adam at times; they were both brave, each ferocious in battle, both utterly committed to the cause to which they had dedicated their lives, both able to sell that cause to others. To Blake. Of course, Rainbow Dash wasn’t cruel, or at least, Blake hadn’t seen her be cruel, and she had watched carefully.

She wasn’t sure how much that lack of cruelty was the doing of Twilight and Rainbow’s other friends and how much was simply the fact that Rainbow had more humanity than Adam. Were people born cruel or kind, or were they fashioned into one or the other by the circumstances in which they lived their lives? A philosophical debate which had eluded the greatest minds in Remnant, there was no chance that she would be able to solve it now while she waited for General Ironwood to see her.

Sunset’s eyebrows rose. “Are you saying it’s surprising that General Ironwood should want to speak to me?”

“No, I… you know what I meant,” Blake said, with a slight huff in her voice.

Sunset snorted. “Yes. I do. Do you enjoy this?”

“'Enjoy this'?”

“Being summoned into the presence of the commanding general himself?” Sunset explained. “Does your heart thrill to the great honour that is done to you?”

“You sound much more like a Mistralian than an Atlesian sometimes,” Blake pointed out.

“Thanks,” Sunset said, a slight smile playing across her face. “I prefer Mistral to Atlas.”

“They both have equally poor reputations when it comes to faunus rights,” Blake pointed out.

Sunset sucked in a breath, and her tone acquired an edge of mockery as she said, “Ooh, do you suggest that Atlas might be a little bit racist? Rainbow would be horrified to hear it.”

Blake gave her a flat look. “Rainbow isn’t blind… not completely blind to the state of Atlas; she just… believes that it can be improved.”

“And you?” Sunset asked. “Do you believe that it can be improved?”

“I don’t know,” Blake admitted. “I’ve never actually been to Atlas.”

“Perhaps you should rectify that before you move there permanently,” Sunset suggested.

“I haven’t made up my mind to do that yet,” Blake informed her. But all the same, it wasn’t a bad idea; it was a little ridiculous that she was even considering transferring to a school in a kingdom that she’d never actually visited. Dash told her one story of Atlas, Ilia had told another; only with her own eyes could she actually judge whose account was closer to the truth. Only by going there could she see if it was really the kind of place she would want to live.

Maybe during the vacation, before the Vytal Festival starts.

Not that it matters, since I won’t be competing in the Vytal Festival. Blake was pretty sure there was no option for a team to compete with five members.

The point was, visiting Atlas might not be a bad idea. In fact, it was a very good idea.

“You changed the subject,” Blake pointed out.

“Did I? When?”

“When I pointed out that Mistral’s reputation on faunus rights was pretty poor.”

“I didn’t see any sign of that when I was there,” Sunset replied.

“Might that be because you spent all of your time with aristocrats?” Blake suggested. “Perhaps if you had descended the slopes into the lower city, then you might have had a different experience.”

“Why would I want to do that when I could associate with aristocrats instead?” Sunset asked.

Blake chuckled, but she also couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “I’m just saying that the Mistralian upper class-”

“Are not perfect, lest you think I believe otherwise,” Sunset said. “Far from it, in fact.”

“I’m glad to hear you recognise that,” Blake murmured, “but they are also not the entire city, still less the kingdom. Mistral is a lot more than Pyrrha and her class.”

“You’ve spent some time in the lower environs, I presume?”

Blake nodded. “For a while, with the White Fang.”

“How was it?”

“Poor,” Blake said. “Prey to criminals of every kind. The White Fang in Mistral spends more time protecting faunus neighbourhoods from gangs than it does trying to advance the cause of faunus rights.” She paused. “How was the peak?”

“Pompous, arrogant, full of themselves,” Sunset said.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Blake murmured. “Sunset?”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve known Rainbow Dash for some time, haven’t you?”

“That depends how you define ‘known,’” Sunset replied.

“Has she…?” Blake blinked. “Has she ever been cruel? Have you ever seen her be cruel?”

“She was an ass to me, does that count?” Sunset asked.

Blake stared at her flatly.

“Oh, I see, we’re having a serious conversation now,” Sunset muttered, coughing into one hand. “I… no, I can’t say that I did ever see that. I wasn’t close to her, you understand, but she was so loud that it was hard to ignore her. So… no. I never saw her be cruel to anyone. She wasn’t as kind as Twilight or Fluttershy, but she was never cruel.”

Blake suppressed the sigh of relief she wanted to let out. “I see.”

“Why do you ask?”

Blake didn’t reply. In fact, she looked away from Sunset to make clear just to what extent she didn’t want to reply.

“She’s not Adam,” Sunset declared. “Rainbow has her faults, but she’s not him.”

Blake glanced at her. “How did you know?”

“I’m very perceptive,” Sunset said, a slight grin playing across her face.

Blake snorted. “Thank you.”

“Don’t go to Atlas,” Sunset said.

Blake couldn’t help but smile. “You really don’t want me to go, do you?”

“No, I don’t,” Sunset said. “I want you to stay here.”

“Why?”

“Because… because we’ll have more fun together,” Sunset said. “More than you’ll have in Atlas. Rainbow Dash… you’ll be better off here in Beacon.”

Before Blake could reply that she was not entirely convinced of that, the door into General Ironwood’s office opened, and the yeoman stepped out into the corridor. “General Ironwood will see you now.”

Sunset allowed Blake to go in first, and she stepped into General Ironwood’s austere office. She heard Sunset’s footsteps echo on the deck behind her.

The General had his back turned to them, looking out of the window at his fleet and at the city that they protected. Blake couldn’t help but wonder if he genuinely liked the view or if this was some kind of power play by not showing them his face.

Or, perhaps, he just didn’t want them to see his expression.

It was probably not the latter, since he turned to face them both as soon as the door slid shut behind them.

“Miss Belladonna, Miss Shimmer,” he said. “Thank you both for coming.”

“It’s our pleasure, sir,” Sunset said, softly but without hostility.

“I asked you both here because I’ve finished reading Rainbow Dash’s report upon your recent mission,” General Ironwood announced, explaining the matter which had puzzled them outside – at least in part. He began to walk around his desk. “Miss Shimmer, I hope you’ll forgive me if I keep this brief: thank you, for protecting Twilight from that bastard.”

Blake’s ears pricked up. She supposed that she hadn’t known General Ironwood long enough to be surprised by him swearing, but at the same time… she was surprised. Whether she had any right to be was another matter. There was nobody in the room who could have suggested whether she did or not.

Blake didn’t miss the way that Sunset’s hand twitched towards the wound on her stomach. “Thank you, sir,” Sunset said. “I wish you could be thanking me for taking him out of the picture.”

Blake sucked in her breath but held her peace. It wasn’t her place to speak right now, especially not about this.

“Believe me, after the damage that he’s wreaked over the years, I wish that too,” General Ironwood admitted, “but I’m well aware of what a tough nut he is to crack, and I can’t fault you for not finishing the job. From Rainbow’s report, it seems you did the best you could in the circumstances.”

Sunset’s eyebrows rose a little. “Sir, you might be the first person who hasn’t called me a fool for doing what I did.”

“Sometimes, we have no choice but to throw our bodies into the firing line,” General Ironwood declared. “If only because we have nothing else to put in the way. I’m sure that those who remonstrate with you for your actions do so out of concern for your safety, but if they keep it up, perhaps you ought to remind them all that you’re a huntress-in-training: putting yourself in harm’s way is what you signed up for.”

“But Twilight didn’t,” Sunset said. “Did she, General?”

General Ironwood stared down at the Beacon student for a moment. “No, Miss Shimmer, she did not. I take it you’re aware of exactly what Penny is?”

“Yes, sir. I was the last of my team to find out,” – Sunset couldn’t quite keep the irritation out of her voice as she said that – “but I’m aware. It… explains a lot.”

“And as an outsider,” General Ironwood said, “how does it make you feel? Knowing that we have built… someone like Penny.”

Sunset was silent for a moment, considering her response. “It’s a magnificent feat of engineering you’ve pulled off,” she said. “It borders on… magical.”

General Ironwood raised one eyebrow curiously. “You’ve been talking to Twilight, I see.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Your appreciation of the efforts of the Polendina brothers is noted,” General Ironwood said, “but what I meant was what you thought of the ethics of it. Does it alarm you that we can create Penny?”

“No, sir,” Sunset said. “No offence to Penny, but for all that she’s a technological marvel, I’d still say Rainbow Dash is more reliable. I don’t think she’s going to replace us any time soon. I know that she’s new, but if we never did anything new because it might seem strange to people, then we would never advance, would we?”

“No, I suppose we wouldn’t,” General Ironwood conceded. “And you are correct; Twilight is not a huntress-in-training. She’s a scientist, here to monitor Penny during this, her field testing.”

“It can’t have been an easy decision for you to send her out into the field,” Sunset guessed. “She matters to you, doesn’t she General?”

“The life of every single boy and girl in my academy, every single man and woman under my command, matters to me, Miss Shimmer,” General Ironwood declared. “But you’re right: Twilight is dear to me. Which is why I’m grateful to you, for keeping her safe. Thank you, Miss Shimmer.”

Sunset understood that she was being dismissed. She bowed her head. “Thank you, sir. Your praise is the highest reward I could expect for my service.”

General Ironwood folded his arms. “I’m sure that there are some in Mistral or Vale who would appreciate such flattery, but not in this office.”

Sunset smiled. “Can’t blame a girl for trying, sir.” She bowed again, from the waist this time, although not deeply so, and stepped backwards out of the room. The door opened behind her and then closed in front of her face.

“If I may, sir,” Blake murmured, “why did you send Twilight out into the field?”

General Ironwood was silent. “Someone had to go,” he said. “Doctor Polendina didn’t believe that Penny was ready to go out into the field at all, but the prospect of another year’s delay on top of all the money, time, and resources sunk into her development… the Council was growing impatient and, I admit, so was I.”

He turned away from Blake and began to walk back towards the window with its panoramic view of Vale. He did not reach the window, however, but stopped and looked down at his desk, at the photographs that Blake couldn’t see. “I championed the Penny project. I selected it to go forward out of several funding submissions from some of the top minds in Atlas. Having a member of Doctor Polendina’s lab team – someone young enough to pass as a student alongside Penny – accompany her in case any issues arose was the compromise that enabled us to get things moving. There were only really two candidates, Twilight volunteered, and she had a lot to recommend her over the other girl I could have sent. In the end, I didn’t have much choice.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed just a little. “Sunset thought that you’d assigned Rainbow Dash to Penny’s team in order to protect Penny, but it was actually to protect Twilight, wasn’t it, sir?”

General Ironwood looked up at her. “It was to protect both of them,” he said. “Twilight, yes, but also Penny if her performance was not everything that we expected of her. If Doctor Polendina was correct, if Penny turned out not to be ready, then I knew that Dash – with Soleil’s help – would bring them home.”

“You think a great deal of her, don’t you, sir?” Blake said. “Not just a lot for a faunus, but a lot, period.”

General Ironwood looked up at her. “I trust her completely.”

“Why, sir?” Blake asked. “If I may?”

General Ironwood looked into Blake’s eyes for a moment. “Why don’t you ask Dash herself, Miss Belladonna, see if she’ll tell you?”

In other words, she might be willing to tell me, but you’re not, not yet. “That’s fair enough, sir.”

General Ironwood nodded. “So, how was your first mission with the Atlesian forces?”

“It… was not what I expected, sir,” Blake admitted, “but at the same time, it confirmed some of my worries about working with Atlas.”

“Oh? Such as?”

“On the flight to Cold Harbour, Rainbow thought it was necessary to warn me that the base commander-”

“Might not mind their manners,” General Ironwood finished for her. “I’m afraid that’s something every faunus student learns.” He paused. “How was it?”

“There was no problem, sir,” Blake said. “Captain Blackberry was extraordinarily helpful and sympathetic to the faunus in and around the town. But that isn’t really the point. The point is that it could have been so much worse, that even Rainbow Dash, who is incredibly loyal to Atlas and its ideals, thought that it might be worse.”

“I won’t deny that there are a few fossils in the high command who haven’t moved with the times,” General Ironwood confessed. “I have hope that the new generation of rising stars will be more tolerant.”

“If I may speak freely sir, you have more hope in the new generation to be free of prejudice than I do,” Blake said, thinking of Cardin and those like him. She frowned. “General Ironwood, are you… aware of Rainbow’s plans?”

“Do I know that she means to rise to take my place one day and use the power of this office to improve the condition of the faunus? Of course I do,” General Ironwood said. “She asked me if I thought it was feasible.”

Blake’s eyebrows rose. “And did you?”

“Yes,” General Ironwood said. “Are you aware, Miss Belladonna, that I hold two seats on the Atlas council?”

“No, sir, I wasn’t.”

“One in my position as Commanding General and another as Headmaster of Atlas Academy,” General Ironwood explained. “The two seats don’t have to be combined, and haven’t always, but imagine what a faunus holding both or even one of those seats would be able to accomplish.”

“Will it happen, sir?”

“It will take a lot of work on Dash’s part,” General Ironwood allowed, “but I don’t know anyone more willing to work hard for something she believes in than Rainbow Dash.”

Blake felt a twinge of envy for Rainbow Dash. “She’s lucky to have someone who believes in her.”

“Dash has plenty of people who believe in her,” General Ironwood replied. “I’m fortunate to have someone I can believe in.”

“Do you know that she’s asked me to transfer to Atlas?”

General Ironwood looked into Blake’s eyes. “No,” he said. “I didn’t. Although, having read Rainbow Dash’s report, I can understand why.”

“I didn’t really do anything, sir.”

“You assisted in the capture of Roman Torchwick; that’s not nothing.”

“Others did a lot more than I did, sir.”

“Everyone plays their part in battle, and a part being less dramatic makes it no less notable,” General Ironwood informed her. He clasped his arms behind his back. “Atlas Academy does not usually accept transfer students, but with your grades and combat experience alongside our forces, I’m sure that an exception could be made in your case.”

“Aren’t you the one that gets to decide if an exception is made, sir?”

“I am, so you should trust my confidence,” General Ironwood informed her. “If, that is, you want to transfer.”

Blake glanced down at the deck. There was a dent in the floor, and she couldn’t work out how it had gotten there. “I don’t know, sir.”

General Ironwood sat down behind his desk. “I suppose Dash has already given you the sales pitch?”

Blake smiled. “Yes, General, she has.”

General Ironwood nodded. “Your feelings about possible racism among the senior staff aside, what was it like fighting with Team Rosepetal?”

“It was a different style than the one taught at Beacon,” Blake said. “I’m not ready to call it better on the basis of one mission. And I’m certainly not ready to judge Atlas on the basis of one team.”

“If you would like to accompany other teams on training missions as they come up, that can be arranged,” General Ironwood suggested.

“I… yes, sir, thank you,” Blake said. “I’d also like to visit Atlas during the vacation.”

“That depends on the threat posed by the White Fang at the end of the semester,” General Ironwood said, “but in principle, I’ve no objection to that either. You are considering it, then?”

“Yes, sir,” Blake admitted. “I am.”

“May I ask why?” General Ironwood inquired. “You don’t seem like the kind of student who would be excited by high tech gadgets or the ability to call in fire support.”

“Does that make me a poor fit for your academy, General?”

“No,” General Ironwood denied. “Although it means you may have something to learn when it comes to adapting to our philosophy.” The general took pause for a moment. “We don’t train Heroes at Atlas Academy, Miss Belladonna. Every student who passes through the halls of my school is a hero in my eyes, but we do not train Heroes. Do you understand the distinction?”

“Do you mean someone who fights alone, for their own glory?”

“Alone, or with only a handful of chosen companions like some knight or warrior prince of old,” General Ironwood corrected. “If your ambition is to roam the dark places of the world with only your own strength – or the strength of the handful you trust to stand by your side – to preserve you, then I wish you luck, but Atlas Academy isn’t for you. At Atlas, there are no soloists, only instruments in a grand orchestra. Scales on a leviathan.”

“So I understand, sir, and honestly… that’s what appeals to me. The chance to be a part of something bigger than myself… if only I could be sure that it was something good as well.”

General Ironwood said, “I consider this great creation of ours to be not only good but great, and I hope that Dash would say the same, but I don’t expect you to take either of our words for it.”

“No, sir. This is something… I have to decide for myself.” I owe it to myself not to make another mistake in choosing a cause to fight for.

“That’s fair enough, Miss Belladonna,” General Ironwood said. “When you do decide, just let me know.”

“Yes, sir. General, has Roman Torchwick said anything yet regarding the plans of the White Fang? Or anything else?”

“No, he’s not talking,” General Ironwood said. “A few more days in solitary, and I hope that will change.”

“And if it does-”

General Ironwood smiled slightly. “You’ll be one of the first to know, Miss Belladonna.”

“Thank you, sir.”

Comments

[MSie95]

“They both have equally poor reputations when it comes to faunus rights,” Blake pointed out.

“When I pointed out that Mistral’s reputation on faunus rights was pretty poor.”

Really? I mean I thught their situation there is slightly better. Their's Hunter Academy's Headmaster is a Faunus (which horrible results). They have their champions/gladiators. Maybe not much but still. But hey, if you want to add another worm to the can, sure. It's not like Atlas is any worse. This is getting ridiculous.

[Cyclone Knight]

10631866
From the canon YA novel After the Fall, Mistral's reputation for anti-faunus prejudice is so bad that Velvet (whose father works in and for Atlas!) automatically assumed at their initiation that Yatsuhashi would be hate her for being faunus.

[Adser]

10631939
You also have the fact that Mistral is up to the gills in corruption and criminal organizations, and they loooove their vulnerable populations.

Even if Atlas and Mistral had exactly the same anti-faunus sentiment, Mistral would be worse simply because it would have more people perfectly willing to take advantage of that.

That said, I do find Ciel, Rainbow and even Ironwood naivety eye-rolling. Like in this chapter, Ironwood you already integrated Atlas Academy into the army, acting as if that doesn't mean that the Commanding General will have 2 by default from now on its really dumb.

[MSie95]

10631939
Yeah, that's why I said "slightly". Mistral and Atlas sed be allies in the Great War. Those two are not that different in that matter.

(whose father works in and for Atlas!)

Who's a human working closely with Ironwood and whose wife lives in another Kingdom. Possibly separated due to what Will describes s different views on the world.

10631951
Would be? There is the corruption and criminality but it's more evenly distributed and it's Atlas' companies to exploite faunus. They're better at keeping the Law but they're not exactly eager to keep the Law even. Which would be much more meaningfull if Scopio wasn't physically incapable for to write Atlas and the Military in bad light.

[Lysander Shadowheart]

Something that has been bothering me since Ruby's eyes were revealed, is that since Sunset does not trust Professor Ozpin, why not ask Princess Twilight to see if there is any reference to them in Equestria?

Yes I'm aware that Ruby's magic is not equestrian, but still, what harm would there be to check? I'm sure I will find out sooner or later, or perhaps I won't.

Also NO SPOLIERS!
(I prefer to be spolier free.)

[Raul]

I only just now realized, Sunset has a scar where Canon Blake has hers. Doing something incredibly similar to what Canon Yang does. Hm.

[Luviere]

See, this is what I'm talking about. Ironwood is a good man, he is a great man. He has a heart and empathy towards the people of all kind. His goal is to protect humanity, and he does it very well. For what reason the writers for the show decided to turn this man, this Titan of a man, into a villain, i can't say. Oh wait, i can. They are retarded and couldn't write good stuff even if their life depended of it.

Don't turn him into a vallain, he does not deserve that.